Memphis judge Otis Higgs has passed away

Judge Otis Higgs talks with lawyers about a plea deal for defendant Clayton Smart, former owner of Forest Hill cemeteries and Funeral Homes, Monday morning. Smart is accused, along with Stephen Smith and Mark Singer, of stealing millions of dollars from trust funds that were set up for the beneficiaries of pre-paid funeral contracts and for the care and maintenance of cemetery properties.

Twelve-year-old Justin Askew (cq) puts on judge's robes Tuesday alongside Judge W. Otis Higgs, Jr. (cq), who allowed Askew to sit alongside him as judge for a day. Askew has shadowed attorneys from the Public Defenders office and District Attorney's office but says he wants to be a Supreme Court judge when he grows up.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs, a pioneering judge and public servant, died suddenly on Friday.

Higgs, who had served as the county's first and only black sheriff, was 75.

Higgs had worked earlier Friday on the bench, but went home ill. He later collapsed at his East Memphis house, and was taken to a hospital by ambulance, according to friends and family.

"He was fully committed to the welfare of his fellow beings, passionately driven in support of the downtrodden and people who were in need of justice," said Shelby County Commissioner Walter Bailey, who was for many years close to Higgs personally and professionally. "To me, it feels like yesterday when he and I represented those who were involved in the (1968) sanitation strike who had gotten arrested."

The judge's older brother, Tony James, called Higgs "a magnificent person, one who would go out on a limb to help anybody."

On social media, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell wrote at 7:35 p.m.: "We just learned of the sudden death of Judge Otis Higgs. What a great public servant and a role model for all of us in public service."

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton called Higgs, "A trailblazing, brave civil rights leader. Ruby and I lost a true and dear friend. The judiciary lost the epitome of what judges are to possess — fairness, compassion, intelligence and courage. Memphis also lost."

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich said: "He treated everyone with kindness and respect regardless of what side of the courtroom you were sitting on or regardless of the reasons you were sitting in the courtroom."

Higgs was appointed Division 4 Criminal Court judge in 1970 and served until 1975, when he made the first of his three ultimately unsuccessful attempts at being elected mayor of Memphis. He was elected criminal court judge in 1998, and served until his death.

Vacancies in criminal court are filled by gubernatorial appointment.

Civil Court Judge Jerry Stokes, the presiding judge for the 30th Judicial District, said: "Judge Higgs was one of the most accomplished judges of our lifetime. He has been a mentor to many other judges and taught many other judges around the country as well. He will sorely be missed."

In 1990, Higgs served 82 days as Shelby County Sheriff when Sheriff Jack Owens committed suicide. He remains the only black man to have served as county sheriff.

In 2009, at the request of many, Higgs agreed to seek a nine-month appointment for interim county mayor but county commissioners supporting Joe Ford blocked him from receiving the needed seven votes.

In 1991, Higgs served as attorney for a lawsuit that eventually led to overturning the runoff provision in Memphis' citywide races. That helped lead to the election of Willie Herenton as the city's first elected black mayor.

In a 2009 article, Higgs said: "The system was so predicated on race, we thought the whole system had to be dismantled. . . . There were those who wanted to wait (because of the changing demographics). I said we can't wait because we're talking about a system that was morally wrong."

But that same article also explained that Higgs "never agreed with those, black or white, who said an African-American could not win a citywide race. Newspaper clippings about his three campaigns back him up."

Bill Gibbons, former county district attorney and now Tennessee commissioner of safety, first met Higgs in 1974.

"He always had in mind a vision for a better Memphis," Gibbons said. "In fact, when he ran for mayor his slogan was, 'Yes We Can' and that really reflected his approach to this community and its challenges."

For many years in private practice, Higgs worked alongside Walter Bailey and D'Army Bailey at the Bailey Higgs Bailey firm.

Higgs also was an ordained minister, most recently serving at St. James CME. He also served at Second Congregational United Church of Christ, one of the more historic churches in the city.

In 2000, he told The Commercial Appeal: "I have been sheriff, a lawyer, a radio and television commentator, and they have all been about service. Now I am performing another service as a pastor and am trying to win converts for God in a different arena.''

James said his brother left Melrose High School after ninth grade to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta, but later came back home and completed his undergraduate studies at what is now LeMoyne-Owen. Higgs earned his law degree from the University of Memphis.

Higgs leaves behind his wife, Diane; two children, Christopher Higgs and Stephanie Higgs; and, in addition to Tony, three other siblings — Dora Smith, Betty Hughes and William James.